Japan’s Farm Minister Walks Line Between Free Trade, Protectionism

It’s hard to imagine how the job of Japan’s agriculture minister could be any tougher. On the one hand, Yoshimasa Hayashi is a well-known advocate of free trade, notably with the United States–something that would likely require a drastic overhaul of Japanese farming. On the other, he needs to maintain a good relationship with the powerful farm lobby, a traditional support base for Mr. Hayashi’s party, the Liberal Democratic Party.

So with Japan set to enter negotiations for the U.S.-led Trans-Pacific Partnership trade agreement in July, Mr. Hayashi told The Wall Street Journal in an interview that he is sticking to the line that Japan won’t offer concessions on what the ruling LDP calls “vital interests,” such as rice, wheat, beef, pork, dairy products and sugar.

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